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Listen If You Will

“What follows is the strange and fateful tale of boy, a girl, and a ghost. The boy possessed uncommon qualities, the girl was winsome and daring, and the ancient ghost…well, let it only be said that his intentions were good.

If more heavily seasoned with romance, this might have made a tender tale, but there was yet another player in the cast, the Finder of Occasions, someone who moved freely about the village, someone who watched and waited, someone with tendencies so tortured and malignant that I could scarcely bring myself to see them, and even now can scarcely bring myself to reveal them to you.

I will, though. It is a promise. I will.”

Far Far Away follows Jeremy Johnson Johnson, a boy haunted by the loss of his mother and the breakdown of his father after she left them. He’s also a boy who can hear the dead. Not see them, as apparently some can, but he can hear the voices of spirits who have remained behind.

He is found by Jacob Grimm, one half of the Grimm brothers. Jacob is forced to travel the world until he finds the thing he has left undone. A wandering spirit tells Jacob of a lonely boy who sits alone in an attic with the fairy tales that his mother used to read to him. This spirit also warns Jacob that a Finder of Occasions, someone who seems normal but is in fact plotting horrible things, is a danger to this boy.

When Jacob finds Jeremy, he decides that the best way to save Jeremy is to help him with his studies so that he can go away to a good college. He's on track until he becomes close to Ginger Boultinghouse, a wild-haired and mischievous girl who has taken a liking to him. He begins getting into trouble: some of his own making (like breaking and entering) and some out of his control (like the threat of being evicted). And when the Finder of Occasions catches up with him, he and Ginger will need all the help Jacob can provide. And more.